Today we make our way to the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

28th April – Today we head for the Grand Canyon and the weather is sunny but cool as we are still at a high altitude. We do a 3 hour run to Williams which is another R66 town and here we drop into Bearazona which is a drive through wildlife park. Before entering the bear enclosure we are warned that they like to take a swipe at side mirrors and keep them as souvenirs. Luckily none attempt to do this.

On leaving the park we head to downtown for some lunch at the R66 diner which has quite an atmosphere and have baby back ribs and a cold beer, (nice lunch). Now we are off to the Grand Canyon which is an hour off the I40. We arrive around 3.00pm and check into our accommodation which is outside the park as all of the lodges on the South Rim are fully booked (usually 8 months in advance) but we do manage to snag a room at the El Tovor for Friday night and have decided to take up the option as we are currently a day ahead of schedule. We head to the IMAX theater and watch a National Geographic documentary on the history of the place then we stock up on some supplies and retire for the night with a full day ahead of us at the Canyon. No blog updates tonight as the Internet connection is down.

29th April – We head of to the park this morning and there is a chill in the air and a distinct lack of oxygen. I didn’t realise we were so high. On arriving at the El Tovor we check in but canot get keys to our room until 3.00pm, so we decide to hit some of the walking tracks. Deb canot look over the edge and walks way back. After getting tired feet we grab the car and take a 25 mile drive east to a place called Desert View and the Hopi Tower. There are many vantage points along the way but Deb stays planted firmly in the car. On reaching the end of the trail this is also the end of the Canyon as it flattens out into desert. Deb braves it and enters the tower which offers great views. We head back to the El Tovor and have a lovely lunch with a picture perfect outlook across the Canyon. After lunch we have an afternoon sleep as the altitude and walking has taken all the energy out of us. I book Vegas using the WiFi in the lounge area and we plan the week ahead.